


Love in The Time of Communism

by theartificialwolf



Series: Old One Shots [9]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Also Aladdin and Romeo & Juliet, F/F, Plot Bunny, Teen lesbian au, communism au, in soviet Russia love find you, jk, partly inspired by les mis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9515645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartificialwolf/pseuds/theartificialwolf
Summary: Violet and Katya are both teenagers who live in a country on the brink of a communist revolution and a chance meeting results in them falling madly in love. But Katya is a struggling street rat who becomes part of the communist vanguard and Violet is a daughter of the very capitalists Katya has sworn to destroy. Can their unlikely love triumph or will the chaotic forces of change rip them apart?





	

Katya had always known that people were not equal. She saw it everyday. Some lived in decadent luxury, having multi-course meals every night while most of the people worked, fought, cheated and stole just for a meager scrap of food. There was never enough to eat, never a way to get warm, never a way to make a better life. They could beg, borrow and steal all they liked but nothing would ever change. But lately there had been secret meetings, people taking about change, real change. They talked of a society in which no one was better and everyone was the same. Each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. It was attractive to Katya and to many others, this idea of quality and utility.

Every time Katya saw these decadent capitalist bourgeoisie, it seemed to her as if they were flaunting their wealth and privilege. They were silly people who knew nothing of the world and how it worked. They lived leisurely lives, barely working and yet enjoying all the prosperity and comforts of their class. Their greatest problem was what clothes to wear that day. They wouldn’t survive a second in the world Katya knew. Hers was a world where people did not have changes of clothes to even worry about.

Katya knew too well the hardships of the world of the working class. She worked in a factory but even that was not enough to truly support her. She could barely afford food, let alone a bed, but she was clever and found ways to stretch her coin and make a meager living. Life was not kind to sixteen-year-old girls who had no family but Katya managed. She was thin, but fit, with high cheekbones, fine blond hair tied out of the way, and calloused hands that were skilled at a great many tasks. She was a fighter and a survivor and nothing would ever break her spirit.

As she sat in the seedy black market, watching but not watching, afraid to be noticed, Katya saw a most peculiar sight- a beautiful young woman who clearly didn’t belong here. She stuck out like a sore thumb, with her perfect porcelain skin and big, bright eyes. Her lovely black hair hung in attractive waves, framing a delicate face that couldn’t be hidden behind her hooded cape. Her clothes were too warm and too clean and too well made. She probably smelled good and her skin was unblemished by work. She looked about Katya’s age, maybe younger, and thus was likely already engaged to a man befitting her high status. Already Katya could see the wicked men who subtly trailed after her, fingering concealed knives as they figured out how best to rob her and worse. Before she could think about what she was doing, Katya sidled up to the beautiful girl and took her hand. When those big brown eyes turned to her in surprise, she began to explain without making eye contact.

“There are men following you. They mean to rob you and worse. I don’t know what you’re doing but you shouldn’t be here. I can get you out of here,” she whispered urgently.

The girl’s eyes widened and out of the corner of her eye, Katya saw her nod. Immediately Katya pulled her into an alley and they ran as fast as they could, Katya leading the other girl down the twisting alleys until finally shoving her into a nook and kissing her until their pursuers passed them by. She did indeed smell very good and her lips were the softest thing Katya had ever felt. She pulled away abruptly, suddenly conscious of her own grubbiness, especially compared to this bourgeois beauty.

“Uh thanks,” the girl said. Her cheeks were flushed, doubtlessly from their flight from the marketplace. Katya couldn’t help but notice that the exercise had done her good, adding some lovely color to her cheeks. She’d gotten a bit dirty but it helped her not stand out so much.

“No problem. But what were you doing there? It’s clearly not safe for someone like you here,” Katya asked, trying not to sound rude but she couldn’t imagine why anyone from the upper class would come down to where the lower class lived. Especially not a girl this lovely. Surely she had it all. There was no reason for her to be here.

“Someone like me?” She fluttered her eyelashes innocently and Katya groaned internally. This naive girl wouldn’t last long on her own here. Katya had to get her home and quick.

“Yes, someone like you. Upper class. It’s so obvious. You’ve no business being here. What on earth possessed you to leave the safety of where you live?” Katya asked, still unable to comprehend the girl’s presence.

Her back stiffened as she was clearly unaccustomed to being questioned. “I wanted to know what it was really like out here. They tell such tales. I wanted to see for myself,” she explained.

Katya guffawed, laughing so hard she had to lean on the other girl for support. “Well that was dumb!” she chortled.

The brunette crossed her arms indignantly as she waited for Katya to contain her laughter. “It’s not dumb!”

Katya nodded. “Yeah it is. You want to know what it’s really like out here? There’s a meeting I can take you to. If you don’t mind getting dirty, that is. I’m not taking you looking like that.” The girl still was obviously not one of them and would not be welcomed to the meeting looking as she did. Katya fully expected her to refuse.

“Alright, lead the way,” she said resolutely. Katya looked her up and down. Maybe she had misjudged her. Katya was willing to give her a chance at least.

“You’re something else, aren’t you? I’m Katya by the way,” she introduced herself.

The girl smiled prettily. “I’m Violet. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Katya.” She curtsied neatly, her upper class manners obvious.

“Well Violet, come this way. I’ve something to show you,” she said as she lead the other girl away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Soiling Violet and her fine clothes was a lot more fun than Katya thought. The girl, while probably not enjoying herself, let it happen and did her best to contribute, knowing it was the only way the factory worker would permit her to go to the meeting. It was dangerous, and Katya didn’t know why she had even invited her along in the first place. Katya was proletariat, Violet bourgeoisie. They belonged to opposite classes. Violet and her class repressed Katya and hers. But looking at this precious girl dirtying herself because she wanted to get a sense of what was really happening in the world, it was hard to remember that she was the enemy.

Katya may have neglected to mention that she’d had a hand in organizing the meeting. It was a cause Katya felt strongly about, having experienced the evils of the system herself. She toiled long and hard at the factory day after day and couldn’t even afford a place to live, let alone enough to eat. She was clever and she knew she was meant for better than a lowly factory worker. She knew the machines inside and out. She doubted the owner, Mr. Rice, even knew that much. All he did was own the machines and grow rich on the products of their labor.

It made Katya’s blood boil. Mr. Rice had more money than he needed and yet his workers were all starving and homeless, barely able to live. Winter was coming on fast, ready to kill. Yet the factory owner didn’t care. Workers were replaceable to him, no better than animals. In fact, his prize horses lived far better than his servants and workers. Katya herself tried to pay as little attention to her employer’s personal life as it only served to further infuriate her.

Satisfied with Violet’s now sullied appearance, Katya stood. “That’s good. Let’s go.”

The ingenue followed obediently, but not without question. “To where are we going?”

Katya’s shoulders dropped in defeat. This would never work. “It’s “where are we going?” Otherwise they’ll know immediately that you’re not one of us. And they’ll kill us both. There’s no room for traitors of the revolution.“ Violet looked taken aback but nodded regardlessly. The walk was short and soon Katya ducked into the agreed upon gathering space, pulling Violet along with her.

"Comrade Katya! It is good to see you! I thought you weren’t going to make it on time!” A lively yet gaunt fellow communist clapped Katya warmly on the shoulder. Alaska was her name and she too worked in the factories. “Who is this?”

Violet froze as the skinny girl’s gaze fell upon her. Katya thought fast. “This is Bettie, a potential recruit to our cause. Pretty thing, but she doesn’t talk much.” The girl nodded along to the factory worker’s lie. Alaska looked at her in sympathy.

“You poor thing. I can’t imagine how many things they do to you just because you can’t cry out against them. Mr. Rice is even worse than his foremen. Capitalist pigs, all of them!” Alaska growled vehemently as Violet’s eyes grew wide. “I’m Alaska but you can think of me as Lasky. Everyone calls me that.” She turned to Katya. “Good news, comrades. We have secured a better gathering spot. Follow me.”

Katya and Violet exchanged befuddled looks before following the other girl, who to their great surprise, led them to the main market square. It was already full of people. Far more people than Katya had expected. News of their revolution had clearly spread and a great many people felt as Katya and Alaska did and as a result had gathered here. While it was everything they had hoped for, the response was overwhelming.

A podium with a sound system had been set up. No doubt the corrupt police would descend upon them as soon as they started it up but there were so many people in the square it would take them some time to reach the small stage. A man Alaska recognized but Katya didn’t led the three girls to the back of the stage. Nina Flowers herself, a charismatic leader of the revolution, was preparing to address the gathered mass, knowing how much danger she put herself in by speaking so publicly and yet she did not seem afraid.

She winked at the trio before taking to the stage. The crowd roared its approval and Nina had to wait for them to quiet before she spoke. Passionately she spoke of the injustices done to the proletariat workers by the capitalist bourgeoisie and how the system failed them. It was flawed and exploitative and was designed to keep them passive but no more. They were no longer going to accept that this was their lot in life. Workers must seize the means of production and churches spewing the opiate of the masses must be shut, a vanguard must form and begin the revolution and then the state would whither away. Everyone would be truly equal then.

The crowded roared its approval and promised violence against those that opposed them. The revolution was coming. All they needed was a spark to ignite this powder keg. Then the city would burn and a new society would rise from its ashes.

Katya turned finally to look at Violet. Her mouth hung open as she looked out at the seething mass that would tear her to shred is they knew who she really was. Perhaps it was time to leave. With a nod to Alaska, Katya took the younger girl’s elbow and led her away.

“But that’s communism!” the girl exclaimed quietly as soon as they were outside, clearly afraid, and Katya wondered if it had been a good idea to bring her to the rally when she clearly was everything the movement sought to tear down. Taking in her dirty appearance, not everything she amended. But even a coating of dirt and grime could not change who she really was. She was the daughter of a capitalist; she had no business hanging out with and attending rallies with a communist like Katya. They began to walk towards the nice part of town, Katya knowing that she needed to take the other girl home. “All those people, they really feel that way. I had no idea how bad it was.”

After a long moment of walking in silence, Katya turned the girl to face her. “Violet, you saw the people in the square. They can’t even afford a place to live, let alone enough food. Half of them won’t survive the winter. Illness is common and medicines too expensive. And if they are injured, they’ll die. Factory owners don’t care. Thy see us as replaceable. Our lives are nothing you’ll ever experience because you were born above us. This system is not fair and it must be forced to change. You saw the rally. Things will change and soon. Communism is the answer many have been hoping for. Where will you be when this is happening?” The factory worker’s eyes were blazing as she demanded an answer she didn’t expect to get.

“By your side, I hope.” And with her bold words, the girl kissed Katya on the lips. “Thank you, for showing me what the world is like outside of my high walls. I had no idea how my father treats his workers. I don’t want to get you in trouble so I’ll go now. Miss Raja will let me in but we’ll see each other again soon, I’m certain of it, Katya. Goodbye for now. And here. Take care.” She handed over her purse, which guessing by its weight, held more than the factory worker had ever earned in her life.

Katya watched in stunned disbelief as Violet scurried away into the back alleys behind the Rice residence. While that kiss was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome. Katya smiled happily. Violet was a lovely girl. And she’d promised to be by Katya’s side when the revolution came. Maybe she wasn’t as defined by her class as Katya had expected.

With growing horror, Katya realized the only place those alleys Violet had disappeared into led was to the evil capitalist himself’s home itself. The owner of that home she and her comrades had demonized as one of the worst of the lot. Mr. Santino Rice, pure capitalist scum. And this man was more than likely the father of the rebellious girl she’d just taken to a rally. And her employer’s daughter had just kissed her.

Oh shit.


End file.
